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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25411165">Runaway for a Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowsnow/pseuds/snowsnow'>snowsnow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Where the Wind blows [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cute, Kissing, M/M, Rivals, Samurai, inspired by Ghost of Tsushima, lowkey, no warnings needed there's not even any swearing, not proofread we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:56:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,571</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25411165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowsnow/pseuds/snowsnow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Johnny knows he already sounds worked up but the presence of Nakamoto Yuta brings out the worst in him on days like this --  sunny spring days possessing the enchanting quality of blossoming petals flying past leisurely, paired with Yuta’s own reddish locks floating about in an attempt to join the breeze.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nakamoto Yuta/Suh Youngho | Johnny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Where the Wind blows [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1840477</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Runaway for a Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>quick note to Chang, thanks for agreeing with my Samurai tweets, i knew i wasn't the only one wanting samurai johnta (??) + i kinda dedicate this to ruwu bc ily hope u like me writing smth completely different to normal!</p>
<p>Please read this so you don't get confused!!!!!!<br/>Little notes for reading b/c I did some research and I don’t want to let it go to waste:<br/>Samurai are a nobility class (actually called Bushi class, as samurai literally means only male warriors)<br/>Samurai have a katana (slightly curved thin sword) and a smaller blade, called a wakizashi -- both of those blades together are called Daisho. Daisho is a symbol of the samurai, used exclusively by their class only.<br/>There is a hierarchy/feudal system: the Emperor is a figurehead, with the Shogun leading with a military dictatorship, followed by Daimyos (feudal lords) that lead territories, and the Samurai are just under that. Samurai are still of nobility and even surpass traditional aristocracy.<br/>Bushido is a chivalry code that’s followed and learnt by Samurai; it includes factors like obedience, skill, self-discipline, self-sacrifice, bravery, honour, etc.</p>
<p>Yumi -- used as a pet’s name, means beauty etc.</p>
<p>These are pretty much the only facts/history I follow, the rest is definitely not accurate, so pls read this for fun only &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yuta is ten paces away from Johnny’s position by the fence when he whines out,<br/>“Can’t you see you’re tightening the lead too much?” with a tinny voice, full of playfully malicious intention.</p>
<p>Johnny pauses his ministrations, hands going slack around the rubber lead of his horse and the adjacent fence.</p>
<p>“What.” The word has no question within it, no lilt in Johnny’s voice to edge out the frustration bubbling within him. Johnny knows he already sounds worked up but the presence of Nakamoto Yuta brings out the worst in him on days like this --  sunny spring days possessing the enchanting quality of blossoming petals flying past leisurely, paired with Yuta’s own reddish locks floating about in an attempt to join the breeze. Yuta hardly knots his hair up in the Spring, Johnny is thoroughly aware.</p>
<p>“Oh, I don’t want you to harm poor Yumi here.” Yuta struts up to Johnny’s horse, with her chestnut appearance and long mane that Johnny’s caretaker sometimes braids, and pats her head. Johnny wants to look away, because Yuta looks especially pretty today, in the soft morning light, with his blush silk kimono wrapped tightly around him, the outer layer draped haphazardly on his frame. His signature katana and wakizashi are by his side as always, and Johnny is struck once more by how dainty Yuta would look if not for his fierce mouth, currently set in a mocking grin, and his flaming eyes.</p>
<p>“You know her name is not Yumi, now scram Nakamoto.” Johnny sighs, discreetly loosening the lead wrapped around the white fence, rubbing paint flecks off of his fingertips.</p>
<p>“Oh, so sorry, I meant to call you Yumi.” Yuta smiles and twists around, heading into the building with the nonchalance of a lord, rather than the samurai-in-training he is.</p>
<p>Johnny hears steps behind him, and glances back to see his cousin, Mark, frozen in place with furrowed brows.</p>
<p>“Did Yuta just call you beautiful in the most discreet way possible?” Mark wonders aloud, and Johnny wants to flick his forehead for a second.</p>
<p>“Shush, you heard wrong.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The meeting hall is bustling when Johnny enters with Mark, both of them quickly steering to the right, where Johnny’s clan chatters quietly. They’re all wrapped in royal blue, similarly to how Johnny and Mark are -- it contrasts the varying shades of red of the opposite side of the room: the Nakamoto clan. The rivalry is apparent, with even elderly members shooting dirty looks to the opposite side every few seconds. However, Yuta, who normally attracts the attention of everyone, is nowhere to be seen, and Johnny swallows down the small boulder of disappointment -- he was secretly hoping to ogle at him some more with the pretense of glaring. After all, Johnny and Yuta are known for their especially charged rivalry, with any word acting as a kindling to their easily ignited fire.</p>
<p>The Daimyo quickly takes the podium, his patience already seemingly thin. His presence quietens everyone, who finally all kneel on the warm oak boards calmly, ignoring the other clan, and Johnny gets ready to listen to the announcement, before he catches sight of Yuta and stares. Yuta is leaning on another person, who Johnny quickly distinguishes as Taeyong, and they’re playing with each others’ hands. It’s awfully petty of Johnny to hyper fixate on such little actions, but he’s never claimed to have complete control over himself yet -- that’s what his Bushido lessons with his father and uncle were for. Johnny has to train and morph his impish habits into obedience and self-discipline, but he allows himself these moments where only he knows what he’s really thinking, which is that Taeyong (who shares no blood with Yuta yet somehow shares the same quarters and captures most of Yuta’s attention in the day) is a nuisance in moments like this and Johnny would love to snatch his delicate hands away from Yuta. It’s stupid and Johnny chides himself after he finishes indulging in such thoughts, because Yuta would cackle like a hyena at the faintest idea of Johnny being jealous, so he shouldn’t be obvious and obliging of his own weakness.</p>
<p>Yuta chooses that moment to glance to the right and he must see right through Johnny, so the redhead winks so greasily that Johnny has to twist his head back to the front to hide the building blush at the tops of his cheekbone. Johnny considers Yuta the biggest nuisance of them all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>By the time Johnny refocuses, the Daimyo has started retreating from the makeshift stage, made out of slightly higher blocks of thick, almost-burgundy oak, and Johnny has once again not paid a single ounce of attention. Mark stretches his legs next to him, and starts whining about a knee bruise from training, and Johnny pays half attention because his father is definitely going to quiz him on the meeting today and the only thing he’ll remember is how one of Yuta’s front copper strands curls to the left instead of the right like the rest of his hair, and it’s insanely adorable -- johnny considers writing a whole poetry anthology about it for a second.</p>
<p>“Johnny, where are you heading to now?” Mark asks as he pushes the taller towards the exit, knee injury forgotten.</p>
<p>“Uncle and I are training with spears today.” Johnny smiles; he’s definitely excited.<br/>Mark gasps in pleasant surprise,<br/>“Of course, our best warrior of the new generation is ahead of his peers.” He hoots and nudges Johnny, who can only laugh at the younger’s antics.</p>
<p>That’s when Yuta chooses to bump into him and hiss quietly,<br/>“Nine.” Johnny wisely chooses to stay silent and only lightly shoves Yuta’s body away, straight into an unprepared Taeyong, who is nearly knocked off balance. Johnny knows what Yuta means. Thankfully, Mark hasn’t heard what Yuta muttered, and is instead frowning at the red-donned pair.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand why they won’t quit.” Mark scoffs for Johnny; the elder can’t help but feel touched at Mark’s thinly veiled concern. He knows Mark will always have his back, but that type of loyalty is just as dangerous as it is flattering -- Johnny will make sure he and Mark never are in a situation where their deep loyalty will be tested.</p>
<p>“It’s whatever, Markie.” Johnny shrugs, “Come, you can watch me spar with uncle for a bit.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Johnny was much younger, a small boy without any idea of what the future held for him, he would avoid any darkness like the plague. He would go so far as to collect lanterns to clutch whenever he walked the corridors after sundown -- after all, his grandmother would saddle close to him and whisper stories of creatures lurking in the gardens and forest, waiting for a moment to pounce on his tiny self as he walked through the sides of his home unaware. His mother always sighed, exasperated, when little Johnny recounted those stories with shaking pupils -- “it’s all a lie.” she would mutter comfortingly into his ears as she smothered him with placating hugs.</p>
<p>Johnny now knows the only creature lurking in this forest has extremely bright, roguish eyes, a mouth set into a vexing grin, and goes by the name of Nakamoto Yuta.<br/>Nine at night was not quite the darkest it could be, but it provides enough cover for both Johnny and Yuta to swoop under the radar. Passing the forest line and delving between the branches provides enough of a safety margin for the two to meet.</p>
<p>Mud slowly crawls up the ends of Johnny’s wide trousers, who curses at his own clumsiness. He could not afford to become complacent in his efforts to hide, and the mud crusting along the silk was a dead giveaway. He groans under his breath as he chips away at it, leaning against a tree’s trunk.</p>
<p>That’s where Yuta finds him five minutes later, traipsing through the forest the same way he glides across anything else, leaving no trace and no evidence on himself or otherwise. If Johnny had the energy, he would envy Yuta.</p>
<p>“You okay, big boy? Got a bit clumsy on the way?” Yuta laughs, mouth wide and smiling. This is Johnny’s favourite laugh, possessing the quality of both pure happiness and freedom, and lacking the distinct sour teasing that filled Johnny’s days surrounded by him. This Yuta was the real, raw version.</p>
<p>“It’s not my fault I’m not a wood nymph or something of the other, like you are.” Johnny grumbles, dropping both feet securely onto the forest ground before enveloping Yuta in an embrace, loose enough that the other could escape but comforting enough that Yuta would not want to escape. Yuta’s laughter continues to ring alongside the smooth wind of the evening as he reaches his hands up to wrap them around Johnny’s neck, head leaning against the taller’s chest.</p>
<p>“Just admit I’m better than you at this.” Yuta sticks his tongue out playfully, continuously letting more of his weight drop onto Johnny. Johnny gasps, playing along, but is cut off from speaking by Yuta placing a small kiss -- nothing more than a peck -- on the side of his mouth.</p>
<p>“Well now,” Johnny pushes out his own disbelieved laughter, “If you’re gonna do this, you have to do it properly.” He knows that Yuta will take this as a challenge and revels in Yuta’s small “Is that so?” before the shorter dives in to kiss Johnny properly, stealing his breath and any thoughts. Distantly, Johnny registers Yuta smelling like peppermint and smoke, like as if he’s been wading through a garden of plants set on fire, and it’s so unique that Johnny can’t bring himself to think anything but like for this scent -- Yuta’s scent.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It takes several minutes for the two to calm down, and several more for the two to climb up one of the low branches of the large tree they met at. Watching the moonlight filter through neighbouring branches is therapeutic, Johnny thinks; his body feels battered and sensitive after his sparring, and relaxing with Yuta by his side while the moon peeks at them sounds perfect. In reality, there’s hardly any relaxing because Yuta feels hyper and burns off energy chattering about his day at a thousand miles per minute, pausing only to make sure Johnny’s listening. It feels awfully domestic and Johnny’s quivering heart clutches at that feeling desperately, no matter how pitiful it might make him look years in the future.</p>
<p>Yuta’s eyes pierce into Johnny, who pauses like a prey caught in a trap.<br/>“What are you thinking about?” Yuta sounds soft and demure in his approach, like he’s afraid to spook Johnny into silence. Johnny knows he can be a little closed-off, preferring to shrug off emotions until they retreat into the small pandora’s box in his head, donning countless locks with no keys to match, but he’s been getting better at releasing some of that, all because of Yuta’s influence, and it feels incredibly cathartic. Johnny smiles.</p>
<p>“Honestly, I spent most of the day thinking about you. Got chewed out by my father for not listening during the meeting,” Johnny pauses to let Yuta giggle, entertained at the thought of Johnny being punished, “then sparring with uncle actually distracted me from you.” He finished.</p>
<p>“Awe, what a pity.” Yuta’s grin is so infectious, so Johnny matches him, while Yuta places a hand on his jaw and looks straight into Johnny. The two have a habit of staring at each other, with even time moving hesitantly, worried at interrupting the silent conversation of their eyes.</p>
<p>Johnny remembers when he was freshly out of his instructor’s home, finally returning to his parents -- only to encounter the impossibly small Yuta. The boy hadn’t hit any growth spurts yet, leaving everyone to tower over him, but it did not discourage him when he challenged Johnny to fight for something incredibly meaningless, like a hand of grapes. The adults laughed them off, throwing practice wooden katanas their way, and the two had stared resolutely in each other’s eyes before Yuta proceeded to knock Johnny off of his feet, taunting him about being distracted.</p>
<p>Many fights ensued, including those with real blades and even realer injuries -- such as the thin slice forever etched into Yuta’s forearm -- yet it could never hold up to the first one, at least, in Johnny’s eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Johnny stirs at the sound of muted chirping and the much louder accompanying swearing, coming from none other than Yuta. When Johnny opens his eyes, he’s staring at Yuta’s face, centimetres from him. The other’s holding his forehead in frustration, and only pulls away when he notices Johnny’s state.</p>
<p>“Listen, we fell asleep here--” Yuta starts, sounding slightly panicked.<br/>“What?”<br/>“Yes, don’t interrupt. Anyway, it’s sometime morning and I’m betting there’s at least one person awake and if we’re gonna die at the hands of our fathers at least I got to see you beforehand.” Yuta can’t stop cackling by the end of his sentence, and Johnny can’t hold back the firm pat on Yuta’s head he’s thought about planting.</p>
<p>“Let’s hurry up and go.” Johnny ushers them up. They’d somehow made it down from the branches and instead leaned against the secure bark of the tree to sleep, and Johnny was extremely glad -- a nasty fall would make his day much worse.</p>
<p>“Wait!” Yuta gasps out, sounding cheerful. He pulls out a small knife, impossibly small and impractical for combat, and leaves Johnny looking confused. Realisation only dawns on him when Yuta starts scratching into the surface of the tree, a jagged Y and J coming into existence.</p>
<p>“To commemorate the first time we’ve actually spent the night outside.” Yuta looks up at Johnny bashfully, suddenly shy. Johnny kisses it away.</p>
<p>“I love it, but we can appreciate it properly later,” Johnny pauses, “tonight?” Hope is something Johnny tends to avoid; it’s the bane of his existence when it comes to Yuta because he can’t help but hope to see and hear Yuta more, and it leaves him fearful for when Yuta declines one day, collapses his heart casually with the palm of his hand, and leaves him alone to clean up the smeared stain of all of his thoughts of the future.</p>
<p>“Of course.” Yuta leans into Johnny’s personal space again for a brief second, lips gliding over his face, kissing his nose, cheeks, forehead and lastly lips. Today is not the day Johnny’s hope gets dashed away, thankfully.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two rush back to their respective homes, thinking of excuses, and Johnny can't help but wonder what Yuta came up with because he needs an excuse desperately when he steps into the dining area, where his father sits, waiting.</p>
<p>“Johnny! Where did you go?” He asks, voice tilting curiously. Johnny wishes he could tell his father curiosity killed the cat, but refrains. It would only bring a pointless argument so early into the day.</p>
<p>“Nowhere. I just woke up late.” Johnny blinks. He wonders if he looks disarming enough, and sits down timidly in an attempt to make himself look smaller.</p>
<p>His father points at the dried mud stain peeking out from under him, then drags his gaze back up to Johnny’s face.<br/>“If you’re meeting with women, at least be careful.” His father cracks the shortest smile Johnny’s ever seen before exiting the room while Johnny gapes uncomfortably.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Johnny’s never felt so embarrassed, staring at his morning serving of rice.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>psst this is part of a whole universe im gonna do :) kudos + comments appreciated &lt;3</p>
<p> </p>
<p>twt: @/ snowytaem</p></blockquote></div></div>
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